


Brave New World

by catteo



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-10
Updated: 2014-07-10
Packaged: 2018-02-08 08:16:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1933596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catteo/pseuds/catteo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stefan Salvatore’s just trying to reinvent himself, okay? It’s not his fault that you can’t hide from your past forever… </p>
<p>This is 1000 words of total, unapologetic crack!fic. It’s all limonatafic’s at lj's fault for telling me about her roommate’s glum hipster boyfriend. Who will henceforth be known as Hipster Stefan. So this is him (apologies to all characters living, made up or stolen from TV shows). Everyone else should probably just walk on by.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brave New World

Stefan snaps back to reality in a narrow alleyway down by the Grill, surrounded by the dizzying scent of blood, with hunger twisting like a knife in his gut. Trails of thick, dark crimson spiral across the asphalt, and his eye traces them to their origin. Bloody hands have formed the words ‘Game on, brother’ in letters three feet tall. Stefan knows with absolute certainty that it’s past time to run. 

 

Wonders if perhaps it was unwise to challenge Damon to a game of ‘Hide and Seek’ so soon after he lost at Twister. 

 

It probably didn’t help that Damon walked in on Katherine and Rebekah _entertaining_ the winner. The smirk on Damon’s face as he uttered the phrase, “Really? That’s what all the fuss is about?” will be burned into Stefan’s brain until the end of time. As will the sound of barely suppressed laughter.

 

Stefan’s so over Mystic Falls. 

 

++++

 

Three months later and he’s beginning to regret a lot of his recent life choices. Philosophy 101 is not the walk in the park he thought it would be (apparently his astute observation that someone with really good eyesight and/or hearing would _always_ know about the tree falling in the forest was not appreciated by the class), Rebekah’s started hooking up with their creepy history Professor and Stefan himself is failing English. Which is ridiculous.

 

Stefan’s been writing a journal for the last hundred and fifty years and some thirty-six year old who can’t even grow proper facial hair is trying to tell him how to get in touch with his inner emotions. If he’s honest with himself it’s only the fact that he’s _technically_ in hiding that prevented him from ripping the idiot’s heart out. Instead he tapped out a cigarette (one of those absurd herbal things that the “cool kids” are smoking) and blew a cloud of smoke into the Prof’s face before turning on his heel and walking out. 

 

As he strolls across the quad Stefan decides that possibly it’s time to make some changes in his life. He’s pretty certain that he’s the only one playing this stupid game any more. There’s been no sign of Damon since New York. He’s probably still in that strip joint with Katherine. Stefan tries not to be bitter, but he’s a big enough guy to admit that it hurt when both Elena _and_ Katherine chose to stay with his brother. 

 

His attention’s drawn by the sound of familiar laughter and he looks up to see Rebekah surrounded by adoring freshmen, hanging on her every word. He can feel an ache in his jaw and a hunger in his gut, vision flaring red around the edges. He’s got self-control now though. And he doesn’t care about stupid vampire girls anyway.

 

Possibly this particular moment explains why he drinks three bottles of whiskey one Wednesday afternoon and decides that it would be a good idea to go to a party.

 

++++

 

Stefan can feel the bass pounding in his chest, a solid counterpoint to the intoxicating smell of sweat and hormones. He finds an unoccupied window ledge and slouches down, lights another cigarette before scanning the room. He runs down the list in his head.

 

1\. ~~Compel guitar player to give you his vintage leather jacket. He already has a girlfriend. You need it more.~~  
2\. ~~Get drunk. You’re no fun sober and you know it.~~  
3\. ~~Decide what to do with your mouth so you don’t open it and sound like an ass. Herbal cigarettes make you look mysterious. Done.~~  
4\. Find a nice normal girl to have a nice normal relationship with. A party is a good way to meet girls. In progress.  
5\. Keep your mouth shut so nobody works out your deep, dark secrets. Working so far.  
6\. Don’t let Damon win Hide and Seek. 

 

That’s when he sees her. Item number four on the list; a nice, normal girl laughing with her friends across the room. Stefan turns up the collar of his jacket and weaves his way through the crowd. He’s pretty glad that he had that extra bunny for dinner at this point; the smell of sex is making his teeth itch. 

 

“Hey, ‘sup?” Stefan has observed that the coolest kids at college apparently no longer have a use for words in their entirety and who is he to complain. It allows for fewer opportunities to land himself in trouble.

“Hey yourself.” She gives him a shy smile, all green eyes and auburn curls. She’s the complete opposite of every other woman in his life and Stefan decides that he’s going to take it as a sign. Clearly they’re meant to be. He wonders if it’s creepy to have made that decision so early in their relationship (is it too early to call it a relationship?), but decides that it’s smart to have a plan. Very Katherine-like. He wonders if she has a sister and then promptly hates himself for the thought. 

 

So, really? He’s nothing like Katherine at all.

 

Stefan blames the tequila slammers and the fact that Emily is an _amazing_ listener for the events that unfold over the next two hours. He finds himself telling her all about his small town upbringing and the girl that changed his life and turned him into someone he didn’t even recognise. He leaves out the body parts scattered up and down the Eastern Seaboard, but puts a heavy emphasis on how his brother’s always following him around and picking up his scraps.

 

He’s not even pretending when he feels the burn in his throat and the sting of barely contained tears as he tells her how the love of his life chose his brother instead. The gentle pressure of Emily’s hand on his shoulder feels a lot like understanding.

 

Of course he should have known that this was too good to be true and he _definitely_ should have known better than to forget about item number six on the list. He’s waiting in the quad for Emily to fetch her jacket when a shadow detaches itself from a doorway, blurs into existence at his elbow.

 

“Brother.” Somehow the way that Damon says it never fails to make Stefan feel anything other than an awkward teenager. “That leather jacket looks ridiculous on you. And everyone knows that the turn-ups on your skinny jeans should be _above_ the ankle. You lose.”

 

Stefan thinks they’re probably not just talking about Hide and Seek any more.


End file.
